My RV’s absorption refrigerator died. What replacement would be best for dry camping?

Hey Dave,
First, I, like many, wish to thank you for ALL of your help and advice. My 3-way Norcold fridge is finally done. I replaced the main board this past summer ($700 CDN) and was told if that didn’t work I would need to replace the fridge. It worked for about 3 months and now doesn’t. The front panel on the fridge won’t light up and I can’t turn it on. The shop I use is great and told me this might happen. So, my question is, what do I replace it with? I do a lot of boondocking, have two huge solar panels and eight batteries, so have a lot of power. But I feel I need propane also for those cold, cloudy, Canadian days; however, I am open to suggestions. —Larry, 1996 Winnebago Luxor

Hey Larry,
Your Luxor was Winnebago’s attempt at getting into the luxury motorcoach market along with American Eagle, Monaco, and Newmar. Winnebago produced that model from 1996 through 1998, and had a unique undercarriage design on the new-at-that-time Freightliner raised rail chassis.

The 1996 model came standard with a two-door Norcold refrigerator, which I assume is an 8-cubic-foot model. 1997 had the larger side-by-side refrigerator. You stated that it is a 3-way refrigerator. That is surprising to me, as I thought Norcold had stopped using the 12-volt battery operation several years before this model. That was because the 12-volt operation would drain the batteries quickly and didn’t provide efficient cooling. However, it was available with an optional Heart Interface 2000-watt inverter with an extra battery. So that would have provided 120-volt power from the batteries to run the refrigerator.

What refrigerator is the best replacement

There are three types of refrigerators that you can choose from: a residential model, a 12-volt compressor driven, and the absorption refrigerator you currently have. I would say that a refrigerator that lasts almost 30 years is probably a very good run. However, I would be interested to see what is actually wrong with it and how the service center thought it might go bad. I will forward your question to Roger, a refrigerator expert, but I would suspect he would need much more information and the ability to test components firsthand.

The residential refrigerator is being used in several motorcoach models that do not do much boondocking or dry camping as it runs strictly off 120-volt power, either from the shoreline cord from a campground or generator, or by 12-volt batteries with an inverter. This is not a good option for dry camping as it drains the batteries quickly.

Your current model is still available from Norcold, Dometic, or even RecPro, with the LP or 120-volt mode. It is a good option for boondocking or dry camping, as the LP mode draws very little battery power. However, you mentioned that propane is a concern in your chilly part of the country, so let’s look at what the absorption refrigerator might use.

If you search the internet, you will find conflicting articles on how many hours an absorption refrigerator can run on one gallon of LP. Some say it could be as much as 61 hours, and the lowest I found was 38 hours per gallon. And another one indicated a 10- to 12-cubic-foot refrigerator will consume 1.5 gallons of LP per day!

Factor in other LP-using appliances

Consumption will be affected by how much the refrigerator runs or cycles, as it will not be running 100% of the time unless the inside of your rig is 100 degrees or more! Plus, it is hard to calculate as it is not the only component using LP, especially in cold weather when the furnace will be the largest draw. You also have to factor in the water heater and stove top if it is being used.

I do think a good average would be 38 hours per gallon just for the refrigerator. Your Luxor came with an 80-lb. LP tank. With the Overfill Protection Device, which only allows an 80% fill, you would have 64 lbs. Since LP weighs 4.2 lbs. per gallon, that means you would have just over 15 gallons, if my math is correct. That means 570 hours, or over 23 days, not factoring in the other LP components. Since you have used this type of refrigerator in cold weather, you most likely have a formula for how long the LP lasts in your type of RVing.

Another advantage of this type of refrigerator is no moving parts. However, it does have to be level for the liquid in the cooling unit to zigzag back down to the boiler vessel.

Popular 12-volt compressor-driven refrigerators

One of the most popular refrigerators to recently hit the market is the 12-volt compressor-driven models such as Everchill, Norcold, Dometic, and RecPro. Mike Sokol did several tests and found the Danfoss compressor is the most efficient and draws about 4 times less battery power than a residential or even absorption refrigerator, both running through an inverter. Tests showed an 8-cubic-foot model lasted 39 hours with a 100 Ah Lithium battery at 70-degree ambient temperature.

You stated two large solar panels and eight batteries. However, you did not give the watts of the solar panels and the type or amp hours of the batteries. Since there are eight, I would assume they are either Flooded Lead Acid (FLA) or AGM, which means you would only get 50% of the available amp hours if they are not sulfated. If the solar panels are only 100 watts, that gives you 200 watts of charging power, which might not be sufficient charging power, depending on the prime amount of exposure to the sun.

Keep in mind the batteries will also need to provide power for the lights, roof vents, and furnace motor, which is a big draw. But, of course, you know that from personal experience. I personally have not used the 12-volt compressor models but would love to hear from readers who have.

Some points to consider and, as always, not everyone wants or needs the same thing. So there are some considerations on what is best for your application.

 You might also enjoy this from Dave 

RV’s absorption refrigerator is not cooling. How about a residential fridge?

Dear Dave, 
My freezer freezes pretty well all year long. However, my absorption refrigerator has trouble staying below 38 degrees in the hot summer in Arizona. I have installed a computer fan in the outside access, forcing the air upward. Also, I raised the vent cover about 3/4 inch to allow the air to escape better. I have started to investigate putting in an additional domestic refrigerator but have been told that it will not operate very well running through the inverter system in an RV. Dave, any help or advice that you can give me would be appreciated. Thank you. —Gary, 1998 Fleetwood American Dream

Read Dave’s answer.

Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and the author of the “RV Handbook.”

Read more from Dave here. 

HAVE A QUESTION FOR DAVE?

Send your inquiries to him using the form below.

##RVDT2273